GET LAMP and Interactive Fiction

I had been hoping not to write something like this, but I hope the reasons for writing it make sense.

Basically, things are taking a lot longer on a lot of fronts and GET LAMP will not be released on DVD within March. I’m now shooting for April, early May. I’d love to be surprised and have it earlier in April, but I don’t think it wise to commit to that. While many pre-orderers are fans and a bunch bought the BBS Documentary and might remember that delay, I also understand people saying they’re not comfortable with this, and would prefer a refund and to order GET LAMP when it’s out, and if so, please mail me and I’ll make the proper arrangements with you to get your money back.

Make no mistake: this project is real. 4000 DVD digipaks which I’ve paid for are sitting in a warehouse, and 4000 slipcases are about to be printed with my final approval. The proof coins are now being made and will be sent to me shortly, at which point the coins are going to be sent to me as well. (I wonder how much 4000 coins weigh, anyway….)

There’s multiple reasons for the delay. I’ll explain them but first, let me say the PAX premiere is going to happen, have no worry there. I’ll see you there, and I can tell you with pride that on schedule for the panel after the movie is Steve Meretzky, Dave Lebling, Brian Moriarty, Andrew Plotkin, and Nick Montfort. Plus a surprise guest or two. So that’s on, don’t worry about that.

One major delay has been rendering the material from the HD master files, and using video noise reduction. This adds hours to the process, which basically ties up the machine. That’s why things got so far into this year.

Another has been that I’ve been very careful about proofs of EVERYTHING, so I’ve made the various places send me verified PDFs and hard-copy proofs in the mail. This somewhat-more-expensive process has already paid off, fixing a problem with colors on the slipcase. I’ll be doing the same with the DVDs (printing proofs and then testing and approving them). This adds iterations to what’s completed.

Next is the opportunity to record additional commentary tracks with some of the people associated with the content and movie – arranging schedules and preparing track lengths so people can add commentary is taking some time. I have a field of betatesters watching footage, and they keep finding minor but important bugs, like a mis-defined acronym or a transition that’s broken. They make it better but then we end up with that rendering again.

Finally, I’ve just been making absolutely sure everything is as high quality as it can be. I’ve watched stuff a dozen times, have been making changes, clearing up lines of narrative, adding in additional informative shots, and so on. The DVDs have 25 extras of footage and counting, the ROM section is huge, and so on. It’s just a big project.

So there we are. I’ll be taking pre-orders at PAX and at a booth to discuss the movie/production and answer questions, and I hope that you’ll see the causes for the delay. Thanks for understanding.

I’m with all the others, the wait is no problem, and I wouldn’t think of asking to get my money refunded. Besides, I have spent the last year or two listening to you talk about this project… it either really exists or you’re one OCD liar. ; )

No worries at all– it’s the final product that matters, and we’re all looking forward to seeing it. I’d rather have a product with which you are happy that ships a month later than your original projection than have something that was rushed out the door.

I´m agree too, this must be a remarkable thing so time isn´t a big deal.
I really appreciate that you included subtitles… In Spain there were Spanish adventures and a community of people playing American and Brittish adventure games. Good old times…